Try throwing some denture cleaner in there, let it sit overnight.

Lime-A-Way. Dollar Tree sells it for 1$. A squirt around the bowl, let sit 15 minutes than swish with brush, no scrubbing at all. I never would have believed how well this works if I didn't see it with my own eyes. I help the two elderly people out in town that have a laundramat if I happen to be there to wash a down comforter. The toilet is disgusting so last time I took a bottle of Lime a way with me and squirted it thru the toilet, let it sit awhile and than flushed..omg I was amazed. It removed years worth of crud.

The only way to eliminate the cause of ring - that I know of - is to remove the minerals from the water before they go into the tank. That would take a whole house water filter.

If you are cleaning the toilet weekly there should not be that much of a buildup. You could try simplifying the process by not flushing the water and not using BKF; just use the scrubber on the water line. I have more luck using a Scotch-Brite scrubber than a brush.

You don't have to turn off the water. Just dump some water in the bowl - I keep an empty coffee can under the sink for this purpose. Other than that, I have hard water and have to clean similarly.

Cooper Duh on me. I do know about dumping in water.

Graywings evey week and the water line is there. It is stubborn. I know it has to be the water.

It is the water causing it. I clean it away every week. A gentle scrub is all it takes on my newer toilets which have the EverClean surface.

Brushworks yes an older toilet but otherwise in good condition. Plan to replace eventually.

I promise you throwing in some denture cleaning tablets will work. That's what they do clean porcelain. You can get cheap ones at dollar stores.

coralee.....I have the SAME problem and have been doing the same as you. Good question. I'll try some of these suggestions! THANK YOU!

Nicole Hope you report back if you find something that works.

I have the same problem and was going to post this question. Will try lime-away or denture cleaner.

We have a water filter and soft water and still get a ring. DH uses the finest grade of sandpaper to remove it.

On the home decorating conversations forum the same question was asked, and I suggested the denture tablets. She reported back that it was a huge success.

Raven a while back I heard about that. I tried with 2 tablets. It did not work for me but might for others.

I'm going to give that a try too Raven, thanks for the tip.

Lysol toilet bowl cleaner gets rid of everything. Just squirt it on and wait a while, I usually leave it a few hours while I do other things. The stains inside the bowl come right off.

A pumice stone works great. I use one with a handle on it from the pool supply store.

Lime-A-Way. Dollar Tree works for me, too!

I use foam bleach and it makes it look brand new with no scrubbing. I spray it on leave it for 30 minutes and flush. I also think denture cleaner would work as well as Lime-A-Way.

Lysol toilet cleaner works for me, Clorox too but it's thinner.

I bought a package of denture cleaners at the dollar store and put as many as 6 in there and do not find that they do much of anything. Maybe it was the cheap dollar store ones that were not effective? I gave them a fair chance. I left them in for many hours too. No more effective than just brushing with a toilet brush without any cleaner. I have found the regular old toilet bowl cleaner works the best. I've also used The Works towel cleaner with decent results. I do feel like the Lysol one is a little bit better.

The ones I used were Polident. They did not work at all.

At our old house I tried ALL those methods, wasted money buying ALL those products and then some. It was very frustrating. And embarrassing, to have ring-around-the-bowl. The only thing that ever worked was the sandpaper -- the ring would be gone for a couple months. Water at the new house must be better, regular weekly toilet brush is keeping things clean.

I also use a pumice stone but never thought to use the ones from the pool store. Great idea. The pumice is the only thing that works for me. I have no luck with the denture cleaner either.

Of course it's caused by the water so either the water needs treatment or you'll have the issue so the realistic plan would be to deal with it. And since it gets stubborn after a week or two I'd take Flylady's suggestion and swish the bowl every day or two. Get it before the buildup gets bad and it's a simple problem. Since my softener died it's a lot more problem here. When I was giving it the "daily swish" there was no real issue. When it went a while, it builds up and becomes work to get rid of it. I haven't found chemicals that do it for me, it's the pumice stone. CLR® and the generic Lime-A-Way® seem to help for me.

I've been meaning to try some denture tablets but I've been very skeptical since 2 tablets in a glass of water for cleaning dentures would mean how many dozen in a toilet bowl of water?

cynic, you could do as many as Mythbusters did with antacids and break down doors?

;)

Laundry borax works too.

rob333, this old fogey has discovered that no matter how many myths are busted, there's always more to come.

I came back to add that I just tried something that truly surprised me. Was at my neighbor's and he was talking about the terlit buildup lately and it jogged my memory about a cleaner I saw endorsed by several people. Zep Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner. I had bought some and never got around to trying it so I went home and got it and we gave it a shot. Squirted it on, let it sit 5-10 min and gave it a quick brushing and I was really shocked. Half of the crusty buildup came off right away. Wasn't perfectly clean but I wonder if a sandblaster would still have crust on there. I left the bottle for him to give it another treatment in a day or two and see how it works. I don't remember where I read about it so I can't give credit but I'll be buying it from now on. I should also add that I did NOT scrub it either, just a brushing with a well-worn scratchbright pad type toilet bowl "brush". Didn't try it with the pumice stone but I'd venture a guess that pumice would help it too.

We have terribly hard well water. The Works toilet bowl cleaner is the best thing I've ever used. Very economical too.

Does the house have a water softener? If it doe not, adding one may help. If there is one, is it maintained and kept supplied with salt?

Denture tablets did not do the trick for me. Neither did lime away or those in tank cakes that are supposed to release lime fighters. In my search I tripped upon a bathroom pumice stone. THAT worked like a charm. Now that the lines are gone I am wondering if the in tank lime fighters will work..keep them away. We will see!!

I hesitate to use anything harsh in the tank part of the toilet because it's been my experience that it causes the toilet working parts to break down and fall apart. I have put a bottle of vinegar in the tank and let that sit for a day, that helped get rid of some of the scale build up.

If any of you have a septic system with a weeping bed, better check with some neighbours who use a similar system to find out what kinds of chemicals they have found that don't mess up their system.

There's mud in my well, and it leaves an earthen deposit in my bowl ... but the brush moves it well (if one does it frequently enough).

If using a metal scrubber, might be better to use copper or brass rather than steel wool, as it, being somewhat softer, might be less inclined to leave scratches behind which would likely result in quicker build-ups, later.

ole joyful

We have hard water and have tried everything. We even got a salt water softener and new toilets. Still were getting the ring around the new toilets. I found this online and it is working!! It is a mesh screen and works like the pumice, but much easier. I found at Ace Hardware, but they had no idea that it could be used for cleaning toilets!

Someone who manages hundreds of apartments said that they use Barkeeper's Friend to clean toilets before reletting the units. It is available in liquid also, now. I know it works. And good for other things, also.

With either something made of pumice or that sanding product, I'd be concerned about it scratching the toilet's ceramic surface.